Do.have to clean the tubing somehow before using it? Just wondering if the copper tubing might have some kind of oil or lead in or on it.

Hutch

Not really, you can just do a good spray down with water and if you feel inclined to clean just lightly scrub with a sponge and some dish soap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tankcrash

I plan on building my own I just wonder if we put spacers in between each coil, if it would open up the area that comes in contact with the wort. might increase efficiency

i think when its compacted its more effective, but if you just naturally coil with lots of space like my early post above it covers a great deal of surface area. i can cool 10 gallons from boil to 75 degrees in about 20-25min.

so, i have a question. would this go on the outside or the inside. if you put it on the inside you would have to worry about contamination and possibly a metallic taste? i am thinking of making one of these but im not sure how to use it. I am new to brewing so any help would be appreciated. BTW i am using a bucket kit for my brewing.

so, i have a question. would this go on the outside or the inside. if you put it on the inside you would have to worry about contamination and possibly a metallic taste? i am thinking of making one of these but im not sure how to use it. I am new to brewing so any help would be appreciated. BTW i am using a bucket kit for my brewing.

It would go on the inside of your kettle or pot to cool down the boiling wort. No worries on metallic taste, all of our lines in the house are made with copper too!

Copper tubing sales has immersion chiller kits in 25 & 50 ft lengths for 3/8 or 1/2 tubing. All fittings and coil for 50 ft 1/2 inch chiller is 65 bucks. Put that on the Santa wish list. Will build over the holiday...been awhile since I sweated joints, but it is easy and should be fun to do it.

Copper tubing sales has immersion chiller kits in 25 & 50 ft lengths for 3/8 or 1/2 tubing. All fittings and coil for 50 ft 1/2 inch chiller is 65 bucks. Put that on the Santa wish list. Will build over the holiday...been awhile since I sweated joints, but it is easy and should be fun to do it.

TSCHMITT, have you built yours yet? I was cruising through this thread and today searched for copper tubing & found the 'Home Brew Immersion Chiller Kits' on their website. The prices seems very fair, 50ft of 3/8 tubing with fittings for $50...Not bad at all. It would seem with the garden hose fitting option all I would need to pick up are the washing machine hoses to go with it.

The only real conern I have about building it is making sure it fits properly (diamter and height wise) in my kettle (10Gal. Bayou Classic). Is there any issue with having a 50' chiller with coils sticking out of the wort as I'm only doing partial boils at this point? (I suppose I could just spray it with StarSan before using too, right?)